Crammed into the basement of Philly’s First Unitarian Church on November 19th, Austin’s Die Spitz tore through just over a dozen songs, fusing the spirit of late-’70s Orange County hardcore with the sharpened political consciousness of Gen Z. The band — whose members were born decades after hardcore first blew open — managed to channel its raw energy while grounding it in a clear-eyed understanding of the broken world they’ve inherited.
The band has seemingly been on an endless US tour that started in May, even before their debut Something to Consume, (released by Jack White’s Third Man Records) was available. And next year looks to be just as exhausting, with two different Coachella dates confirmed; a tour of Europe that includes sets at Hellfest Open Air, the Download Festival; and an opening slot of a Foo Fighters stadium show in Liverpool.
But on Wednesday, taking the small stage in Philly and launching into “I Hate When GIRLS Die,” a song that mixes punk-rock energy with a doom-metal weight, the band lit a fire that built quickly and continued to rage until the final chords faded almost an hour later. Their set drew on influences ranging from Sabbath and Nirvana to the attitude and ferocity of bands like Black Flag, moving through songs like “Pop Punk Anthem (Sorry for the Delay)” — which plays like PJ Harvey covering the Pixies — the melancholy “Go Get Dressed,” sung by guitarist Ava Schrobilgen, and more raucous tracks such as “Evangeline” and “Groping Dogs Gushing Blood.”
Shortly after “Down On It,” one of the night’s high points, vocalist and guitarist Ellie Livingston explained how feelings of helplessness shaped the song: “I felt bad because I wasn’t doing anything about what was going on, and then I realized there is a way I could speak out, so Free Palestine, Fuck ICE, and protect yourself.” The night underscored a simple truth: punk rock — whether Fugazi, MDC, The Clash, or Die Spitz in 2025 — has always been shaped by politics and moments like the one we’re living through now. The show also felt like a throwback to the ’80s and ’90s punk and metal scenes, with an impressive circle pit, crowd-surfing, and Livingston scaling the amps mid-song — the vibe was both chaotic and communal.
The band closed their four-song encore with a ferocious, throat-reddening version of “Throw Yourself to the Sword,” with Livingston knighting a few people in the crowd before the final notes hit.
Impressively, Die Spitz had already stopped in the city less than six months earlier, playing to about 100 people at PilaMOCA — and now they’d more than doubled that crowd with a sold-out show at the city’s legendary punk venue. The audience was multi-generational and multi-gendered, and many seemed almost in awe, realizing they were witnessing a remarkable group still in the infancy of their career and on the verge of being discovered by the rest of the world.
